In the course of our everyday work, it can be easy to think that everyone is talking about menopause.

It’s mentioned regularly on TV, in the media, and even in advertising. It’s being debated in Parliament and on programmes like Question Time.

But are our workplaces really becoming more menopause friendly?

We’ve clearly taken some huge steps forwards. It’s great to see the progress that is being made, and I think we can look forward to more in the coming months and years.

Last week I delivered a session to over 800 people from hundreds of different organisations.

Our polls showed that:

• 30% said they had some sort of support in place
• 30% said it was on the agenda but nothing in place yet
• 40% said they hadn’t started yet

While these numbers could seem discouraging, I think we can take heart. That 40% of the audience may not have started yet, but they had joined the session to find out what they could do to begin.

Getting started

We talk about ‘menopause overwhelm’ in our training sessions. An online search for how to manage symptoms can yield a huge amount of often-conflicting information. It can be hard to know what to believe and where to start in seeking support.

And it can be can be the same for organisations.

A couple of years ago, I spoke to someone in an organisation who said: “I know menopause is something we desperately need to support, but I’m scared to start approaching the topic as I’ve no idea what to do or where to start”.

We worked to support this team and, by following a clear process that was right for their organisation, they are now committed and well on their way to becoming a menopause friendly organisation.

It starts with a conversation…

As simplistic as it sounds, to start talking about menopause you need to starting talking about it. If this is a topic your organisation hasn’t begun work on yet, don’t be afraid to take that first step. You don’t need to have all the answers straight away.

Listening to your teams, understanding the challenges people may be experiencing and exploring what support would make a difference is a great place to start.

If you have started, what next?

If you’re already on your  menopause friendly journey but aren’t sure where to turn next, here are some key questions to consider. These are the six key focus areas for becoming a menopause friendly organisation:

Culture

• Does your organisation have a culture where menopause can be spoken about openly?
• Are senior leaders engaged in menopause awareness and education?

Policies and practices

• Do you have a policy or guidance in place?
• If so, how is this communicated and is it making a difference to the lived experience of people in your organisation?

Training

• Have you equipped your colleagues, managers and support teams with the right knowledge, skills and confidence to understand and support menopause?
• Have you integrated menopause into your training plans?

Engagement

• Have you listened to colleagues to understand what would be helpful for them?
• Do you have support groups/networks in place? How do these intersect with other support groups in your organisation?
• Are you effectively communicating why this is important to your organisation?

Facilities/workplaces

• Is everyone aware of workplace adjustments that could be supportive of menopause within your organisation?
• Are there considerations/adjustments you could consider around workwear, uniform or dress code?

Evaluation

• How do you know what you are doing is working?

Evaluation can often be the hardest thing but setting out your intentions of what you want to achieve and why and then measuring against this. How has the work you’re doing changed the lived experience of people in your organisation? On a recent session someone shared that the support they had received had literally saved their life – how can we afford not to put the right things in place?

Are we there yet? Honestly, no. But there are so many organisations doing incredible work and we’re seeing the impact of that every day. And the more that get involved, the more we will be on the way to achieving our goal: of seeing every organisation become menopause friendly.

Sally Leech is a Director with Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace

For help and support and avoiding that feeling of menopause overwhelm, please contact our team so we can explore the best way to support your organisation in becoming menopause friendly.

Sally Leech

Sally Leech is the Training Director at Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace.